What Is The Best Toilet Seat To Buy?

We take a look at all the many different types of toilet seats available to help you choose the best one to buy for your toilet.

Posted By Alan, 24th Aug 2017. 6 Min Read.

If you’ve ever been asked the question, what’s the best song ever recorded? Or, what’s the best film ever made? You’ll be all too familiar with the fact that one answer will spring to mind, followed by another, followed by another; the same goes for the question, what is the best toilet seat to buy?

Okay, so the best toilet seat and the best songs and films may not exactly be the best comparisons, but just like a great song or film can be enjoyed depending on your mood, the best toilet seat will totally depend on different factors too. Maybe not your mood though!

The many varieties of toilet seats

Before we can answer, what is the best toilet seat to buy? We need to look at the many different types of toilet seats which are available. In order to keep this guide simple we have listed below all the common styles that you can typically find. There will be other specialist toilet seats out there so please don’t take this list as exhaustive although we’ve attempted to cover as many options as possible.

Believe it or not, buying the wrong style of toilet seat can really make or break your bathroom’s design. Bathrooms, just like any other room in the home, can be a real showstopper, but if you’re toilet seat choice is not quite right then your bathroom can go from ‘wow’ to ‘no’ quicker than you can say flush!

Below you will find each type of toilet seat from the list above and a short, descriptive profile of who it would be best suited to. When buying a toilet seat make sure you have the correct measurements, fixings and shape for your toilet. For more help with toilet seat fixings and measuring for a new toilet seat take a look at our guide here.

Standard Toilet Seats

Think of a typical toilet seat and you can probably render an image in your mind of this style. It’s what most people have used before and is designed to fit most toilets. This is the best toilet seat to buy if you have a standard toilet and you’re not bothered about any fancy extras.

Toilets come in all shapes and sizes; one of which is the curved shape toilet. These toilets may require a D-shaped toilet seat to fit around the D-shaped pan. This is the best toilet seat for your toilet where the pan is shaped in a D like manner.

Similar to D-shaped toilet seats, square toilet seats are designed to fit around the square-shaped pan of a square toilet. You’ll need to buy one of these toilet seat shapes for you square loo as no other style will look right.

Unlike modern toilets which tend to house acrylic or plastic toilet seats, traditional toilets look and feel more authentic with wooden toilet seats attached. They can be made using MDF or solid wood; where the latter tends to cost a little more. The MDF options are the best toilet seats for traditional toilets where cost needs to be kept low, but if you’re not held to a budget then solid wood toilet seats are highly recommended.

If you’re anything like me then you’ll have cringed when you drop the toilet seat by accident then anticipate the loud, sudden bang; not so great at the best of times, but why does it mainly happen in the middle of the night? Here’s some good news, you can prevent these loud bangs and awkward moments by choosing a soft close toilet seat. These seats lower themselves at a slow pace, gently landing on the pan in a quiet fashion. The best soft close toilet seat will be one that fits your particular toilet and style. They come in a wide range of styles including all the toilet seats above and those below.

If you’re the type of person that doesn’t take life too seriously or looking for something a bit different a novelty toilet seat is perfect for you. They come in a range of clever designs with funny faces, inspiring imagery and quotes. They’re best suited to bathrooms which already have novelty items although they can be a great conversation starter when used on their own.

If you’re a big fan of colour or would like to coordinate with a certain hue in your bathroom then a coloured toilet seat is a great idea. You have every colour to choose from which means whether your bathroom is duck egg blue or bright purple, there’s a toilet seat for you. The best coloured toilet seats will complement other similarly-coloured bathroom items including bath panels, vanity units and mirrored cabinets.

For the ultimate in personal hygiene, nothing compares to a shower toilet seat. They’re packed with functions such as water jets for helping maintain cleanliness in a comfortable way. Also known as water spray toilet seats they’re also incredibly stylish too, but their price tag won’t suit every budget. They’re one of the best slow close toilet seats you can buy, although they aren’t cheap so lots of us will have to settle for something a little cheaper.

A totally authentic toilet seat designed to fit a traditional high level toilet. A throne toilet seat is a real eye-catcher and will provide a regal period look to any traditional bathroom. This is the best toilet seat you can buy for traditional high level toilets, although the style may not be for everybody in which case you may revert back to the idea of a wooden toilet seat instead.

Remember those toilet seats at school with the open front? Of course you do! Well, a Bakasan open front toilet seat is the name for them. These toilet seats are the best for use in schools and colleges because they’re highly durable and easy to fit. They come in a range of open front and normal designs.

A raised height toilet seat is much higher than a standard toilet seat. They’re also known as comfort height toilet seats and can be added to a standard toilet to help people sit down and get back up. If you’re a tall person or have restrictive movement then the best toilet seat for you is a raised height toilet seat. It creates a much more comfortable experience for you and they’re a cheaper alternative to buying a new comfort height toilet.

These ultra-modern slim toilet seat designs are both strong and stylish. They’re super-slim and look great on a variety of modern toilets. This is the best toilet seat to buy if you’re looking for something to complement your ultra-modern bathroom.

Family toilet seats are perfect for everyone. They contain a standard toilet seat with a children’s toilet seat in the middle which can be lowered into position to make for a more comfortable visit for smaller children. It makes family toilet seats a great solution for the whole family.

If you have a short projection toilet, also known as a cloakroom toilet, then you may be wondering, what toilet seat do I need for a cloakroom toilet?. The good news is, there aren’t any special short projection toilet seats you need to buy. The pan on a short projection toilet seat is the same as the pan on standard toilets so you’ll just need a regular toilet seat size. The same can also be said for corner toilets too!

Choosing the best toilet seat to buy

Once you’ve found the best seat for your toilet it’s almost time to shop around for the perfect one. There’s various brands, colours, materials and prices so this will always come down to personal preference. One of the main factors when buying a new toilet seat is how much money you have to spend.

How much do toilets seats cost?

A typical toilet seat doesn’t have to cost the earth and should cost between £20-40. The cheapest toilet seats start from as little as £5, but be aware that quality can suffer here. The most expensive toilet seats can be anywhere between £1,000 - £2,000 although most people would say anything over £100 is a pretty expensive seat.

Now you have your toilet seat design and budget planned you can now start looking for your seat. Remember, bigger brands may cost more, but not always and depending on the material you choose, prices may vary too! Finally, you’ll want to either replace the seat or fit it. Either way, our handy guide on how to replace a toilet seat is here to help you through the whole process.

We hope you’ve found our best toilet seats buying guide helpful and use it to buy your next toilet seat. If you think somebody will find this useful then please feel free to share it with them. As always, we love to hear your opinion and if you have any feedback or suggestions then please get in touch on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

Alan, Victorian Plumbing

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Alan

Alan is one of our bathroom bloggers here at Victorian Plumbing. He likes writing helpful articles on bathroom trends and ideas. As well as writing his specialist buying guides, Alan can be found here sharing his expert 'how to' step-by-step DIY guides. When he isn't posting on the blog, he likes surfing the web for top bathroom tips and useful customer advice.